


Storming the Castle

by BritishSarcasm



Series: Ironic Technology [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Link is starting his tranformation into Zelda's one-man support squad, My descriptions of malice are a bit gory, and he is indignant on Zelda's behalf, but it really does remind me of an infection, its just a geographical infection rather than a biological one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 16:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12752265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BritishSarcasm/pseuds/BritishSarcasm
Summary: The Princess has waited over one hundred years for Link to re-join her in the fight against Calamity Ganon and now Link is, physically, the most prepared he can possibly be. He may still not be complete mentally but he is singularly determined to make sure Zelda gets to walk out of that Castle alive.Plus, he has a score to settle with those damned Guardians and the demon controlling them.





	Storming the Castle

**Author's Note:**

> This story won't make a lot of sense unless you read Ironic Technology (Part 1 of the series) first!

It was finally time to return to Hyrule Castle.

The darkness-sealing sword was on his back, the various martial skills gained from all over the Kingdom were now well practiced, he had studied the layout of the Castle intensely, and all the Divine Beasts were ready to go. He’d returned to Hateno to collect the other Champions signature weapons and decided to visit Purah one last time for any additional details she could give about the layout of the castle.

He had not expected Robbie to be there too, along with his wife.

“Oh, Linky! What great timing,” Purah welcomed, dropping down from her perch on her desk. She grabbed his right hand to drag him over to the congregation of people in the middle of her lab, even though he now knew she also had a lab on a level below their feet.

He nodded in greeting to Symin and Jerrin before turning to face the two directors.

“We were just having our annual meeting to share what progress we’ve made on the Sheikah technology,” Purah explained, always happy to share her knowledge. _Show off, more like._

“While we may not fully understand the technology’s original purpose or mechanisms, we have been able to build from it and utilise it for our own purposes,” Robbie continued.

Link grinned as he used his right hand specifically to sign [I’ll say]

“Tired already?” Purah asked, eyeing the hand signals, while Robbie looked proud of himself.

[It’s Castle Day tomorrow] Link informed them, with a shake of his head. His unease and apprehension was making him extremely uncomfortable and unwilling to even imagine speaking out loud.

“It is?!” both Sheikah researchers exclaimed, before sharing looks of hesitation.

“You know, I’m sure there are more Shrines out there, I can try to make the sensor stronger,” Purah suggested.

“I can also start programming more blueprints for stronger Ancient weapons,” Robbie chimed in, eagerly.

The Hylian Champion looked between the two of them, confused, before turning to the other two Hylians in the room for an explanation. None was forthcoming from that sector.

[Why delay? I’m finally ready] While the task of breaching the Castle was incredibly daunting, he knew without a doubt that he was as prepared for this battle as he could be. Besides…

“She’s waited long enough,” he said, quietly.

The two researchers looked guilty and torn, but it was Jerrin that finally stepped forward.

“They’re worried about you,” she said, as if it should be obvious.

“Yeah, Link,” Symin joined in, “we all know you’re the only one who can get the Princess out of there, and this is what you’ve been working towards ever since you woke up… But you’re about to walk into the most dangerous place in the entire Kingdom.”

The atmosphere became sombre quickly, the members of the room recalling many a tale of curious adventurers trying to breach the Castle in recent months, and never coming back out. Then again, none of them had been Link.

“Oh, look at us! Here we are, expecting the worse, when he’s probably going to storm in there, kick Ganon in the ass and have the Princess back home safe and sound before the day is out,” Robbie insisted, crossing his arms as if that were the end of the matter.

“You do have a habit of exceeding expectations,” Purah agreed, looking at Link slyly. But then she noticed that he suddenly looked unsure of something. “What is it, Linky? Don’t think we don’t believe in you, we don’t doubt you for a second!”

The young Hylian made several aborted gestures to begin signing before he raised a determined hand [What if I don’t bring her back?]

“What?” Robbie asked, blankly.

“Now look what you’ve done,” Purah said angrily, turning on Symin who took a step back in alarm. “Way to go, Symin, you’ve made him doubt himself!”

“I-I didn’t mean to-“

[No]

The single, abrupt, hurried gesture gathered everyone’s attention before a stream of signs were created from Link’s agile hands.

[Champions trapped in Divine Beasts disappeared. Princess trapped in Castle, will she disappear?]

There was silence in the lab, as if none of them had truly considered this being a viable scenario, but to Link, it had seemed only logical. It would fit the pattern of the other Champions, the Castle acting as the Princess’ final battle ground instead of a Divine Beast. While he dearly hoped he would be able to actually meet the Princess, he knew it would be wiser to expect her to be freed into the afterlife. One hundred years against a legendary recurring evil was a tall order, even for one with the blood of a Goddess. _I have come to this conclusion over and over but the realisation never stops making me feel cold. I really hope I’m wrong._

“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t considered it, but her situation was different than the Champions. They fell in combat; if the Princess had fallen wouldn’t Ganon have been free to destroy Hyrule?” Robbie asked.

“We won’t truly know until you defeat him, but we have to hope for the best,” Purah insisted. “You didn’t tell my sister about this, did you?”

Link shook his head.

“That’s good; she probably would have hit you with a pillow and told you that thinking such negative thoughts won’t get you anywhere.”

The small Hylian had to laugh at this, for it was the exact reason he had not broached his worries with the Sheikah Matriarch.

[You’re right. Thinking positive is good; I need a reason to fight]

“That’s it! Besides, you’re taking the fight to him this time. He’s lost his element of surprise and you’ve had practice with the Blights. None of us were ready last time,” Robbie said, sounding a bit downhearted towards the end.

[Plus, I now have this] Link quickly patted his right forearm before returning to sign [I’ll remember to punch Ganon in the face with my-]

He paused, frozen in place with his left hand on his right upper arm for a couple of seconds before flowing into more signals, [-arm of ancient technology]

“…We really need a name for this material,” Robbie said, breaking the oppressive mood of the room.

[You really do] Link agreed, having never really decided on a consistent way to sign a descriptor for his new limb.

“What? Getting tired of saying ‘Ancient Sheikah Tech Composite’?” Purah teased, making the phrase sound effortless, but Link already insisted on as few syllables as possible as it was.

[Signing that is difficult too]

“Hmm, well, how about … Sheikite!” Robbie announced, striking a pose as he did so.

Link and Purah gave each other a _look,_ while Jerrin shook her head at the heavens as she turned away from the conversation.

[Really?] The Hylian signalled, raising an eyebrow to show he wasn’t convinced and hoping the older Sheikah wasn’t serious.

“Well, what would you two call it then?” Robbie huffed, hands on his hips as he waited for a better name.

Link scratched the back of his head as he shrugged; his horse could already attest to the fact that he was absolutely dreadful at naming things. Goddesses forbid he ever had children.

Purah, however, gave a little giggle from her perch on the chair.

“How’s this for you. Guardium!” She punctuated her idea with a ‘snappity-snap’ and the accompanying hand motions.

“… damn, that’s good,” Link admitted, experimenting with the hand signals for ‘guardian’ and ‘metal’.

He gave Robbie an apologetic look as an afterthought, causing the older man to sniff in mock offence.

“Fine. Take her side. I see how it is.”

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

Materialising on the Katah Chuki shrine platform in the early hours of the morning, Link immediately donned the cap he’d been given by the Goddesses. When one receives a gift from the almighty powers that be, it’s rude to not appreciate it. Also, he thought it was cool, regardless of anyone else’s opinions. He would have gone with the full outfit but the Champion shirt seemed fitting for this battle and he wasn’t about to give up the shorts.

A quick visit to Cotera as he swung by Kakariko Village to say goodbye to Impa and his new armour set had been fully upgraded. This had given him the chance to unwind a little in the fairy grove Cotera transported him to as he listened to her gripe about various fairy matters while she worked on his armour. Previously, Link had felt a little guilty as he constantly bothered the three elemental dragons, but he now considered his hoarding instincts to be incredibly beneficial. Being able to hand over numerous scales, fangs, and horn shards on the spot was very satisfying.

He took a couple of minutes to scope out the area around the shrine, which was what he liked to call the ‘danger zone’, before he continued on into the ‘death zone’. He’d attempted to scout out the castle before today, on his way to Rito Village, but hadn’t gotten further than the docks area on the north side of the Castle. He’d walked around the walkways and wooden piers, killed the all the lizalfos, claimed a Flameblade and completed a Shrine. But he had been unable to find a way _out_ of the docks, besides swimming back into the moat, even though the map on the Slate seemed to suggest there was a passage that led up and out. 

While Hyrule Castle was the death zone, Hyrule Fields was the danger zone; crawling with Stalkers, various other uglies, and then the unrelenting Yiga Clan. The original plan he had was to try and sneak into the Castle via the Shrine and climb up the back to the Sanctum. But there was an image left on the slate that Link had not yet visited and he could only assume at this point that the memory was somewhere in the Castle. He also just wasn’t feeling stealth right now. It was time to bust down the front door.

_Knock, knock Ganon._

Link walked east off the platform of the shrine and headed towards a wall he saw between the hills around him. As he neared, a Skywatcher flew past the wall and out of sight. He eyed up the hills to the side of him before scrambling up one to get a better vantage point.

Before him, was what must be the ruins of Castle Town. The stone foundations of buildings remained to show where a civilisation had once stood and between them all thorns of malice punctured up through the ground. The infected looking tar clumped in patches between the spikes, spreading across the floor in tacky webs. A Stalker was scuttling back and forth in his direct line of sight, causing Link to crouch and creep forward slowly. He wasn’t sure how good its eyesight was, but some Guardians he knew from experience had some extreme range. The Skywatcher hadn’t returned in a while, which made him uneasy, but he had to move soon. 

As he made to slide down the hill and onto the wall, he heard the sound of a pile of paper exploding and a Yiga archer dropped down in front of him. Most definitely within the Guardian’s range now, Link charged at the archer bringing forward the Lightscale Trident to repeatedly stab the crimson clad warrior. He managed to push his assailant down onto the walkway of the wall and the Yiga member disappeared in defeat, leaving behind the usual cluster of bananas and assorted rupees. Link slid across the floor behind the parapet until he reached the end of the walkway and peered over the edge to watch the Guardian, just as it turned to watch him.

Ducking back down quickly, he heard the whirring of the automaton pick up in speed, and the clicking of its legs got louder as it came over to inspect the wall more closely. Link let the Guardian inside the town walls observe the stone work to its little core’s content, as he slowly spun around to see what lay on the other side of the wall behind him. Another Stalker patrolling the road leading into the town and a decayed Guardian stuck in the hill he’d just climbed over.

He reached for the Sheikah Slate and started swiping through all his items to find what he was looking for; clearly speed was of the essence here.

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

Speed was not of the essence here, because all of his travel routes were blocked by spikes, contagious jam, glowing eyes Link was pretty sure Ganon was watching him through, and the occasional sleeping Guardian.

After jumping from the wall and making a mad dash across the destroyed town, the Skywatcher came back. The noise it made as it locked onto him alerted the Stalker and it too gave chase. Link had learned that Skywatchers tended to give up if you went far enough outside of their route, Stalkers, on the other hand, would follow you until they lost sight of you.

_What did I ever do to-_

Link dropped and slid to the left to avoid a laser shot by the Stalker. The explosion of dirt and stone kicked up from the impact shunted Link to the side, narrowly missing being sent bodily into a pool of malice. Crawling back up to his hands and knees, he pressed himself against the corner of a wooden structure jutting out from the ground. He had no idea what this structure had once been, but there was only the floor and the few planks of wall he was currently using to hide behind left.

During the explosion the Guardian lost direct line of sight and it came to stand about two feet away from the Hylians hiding place. The agitated red glow still permeated throughout its body as it searched for him, ignoring a second Stalker that came into view, radiating a calm blue.

Link crouched lower as he eyed both Guardians warily, waiting for one to turn around so he could ram the Master Sword through the eye of the other. The blue guardian did eventually turn away, walking off toward the outer wall, but the first guardian came around the corner of wood, one leg now placed as an arch directly over Link’s head.

_Well, if you insist,_ Link thought before driving the Master Sword straight up, cleaving the metal leg in half and watching sparks fly above him. Shocked and confused the Guardian tilted, nearly falling into the malice itself, as it tried to detect what had attacked it. It was more than enough time for Link to dart in, remove its remaining legs and destroy the structural integrity of the hull.

Deftly skirting around the other mobile Guardian, the last remaining Champion set his sights on the bridge leading up to the Castle. There was a large amount of malice between him and his goal. He made an attempt to grit his teeth and charge through it but his first step into the tar sent a nauseating pain straight through him and he was very nearly sick.

Retching, he stumbled back out and instead started to look for a cluster of spikes housing a single eye at its centre, locating one to his left. Popping the eye through a gap in the spikes, the solid protrusions of calamity and surrounding contagion disappeared into wisps of smoke, clearing the way for Link to begin another sprint. Flying down the stairs he heard the grinding gears of a Guardian waking up and Link reached a river of tar he could not pass. 

Had Link the energy to spare, he would have made an exaggerated eye roll. _Of course._

Skidding around in a wide arc, Link brought his shield up as he came to face the Guardian he’d just disturbed. Flinging the beam of energy back into the sentinels face, Link scrolled through the Sheikah Slate with practiced motions to reach his gear and selected the Ancient Armour.

He was thoroughly done with all these inconspicuous Guardians he kept missing. He raised his right arm, blue light gathering about him and he faced his palm outward. The metal demon before him re-gathered itself just as Link had a final coherent thought before the storm.

_I swear to Farore, I am going to destroy every single last one of these things I find. _

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

Half an hour later and Link was standing in front of a set of large metal doors that barred entrance to Hyrule Castle, carrying a lot more Guardian parts on him than he had previously. The rising sun cast shadows that contrasted against the warm hues tinting the smooth surface of the heavy metallic gates.

_Probably didn’t consider magnesis runes when they built these, I suppose,_ Link mused, selecting said rune on the Slate and opening the doors with ease. He deflected a beam sent by a decayed Guardian up the path before him and eyed the building straight in front of him.

_I can climb that,_ the spontaneous Hylian decided as he crammed some rice and meat into his mouth. He started to hike himself up the building that the Sheikah Slate now pronounced was the Observation Room. If Link didn’t know any better, he’d say the Slate had some memory problems too as it only seemed to name areas once he’d visited them. He surmised that this is where guards would overlook anyone entering into the Castle grounds. Had he ever stood there watching over people coming and going through those metal doors one hundred years ago?

_Probably._

Halfway up, a previously dimmed out Guardian locked onto him and Link went from careful climbing to reckless leaps up the stone wall. He avoided the searing attack by about a metre as he pulled himself up over the observation balcony. He sat down dejectedly when he saw that the entrance to the room beyond was blocked by a solid mass of malice; with no eye to puncture in sight. 

Casting his gaze skyward, he assessed the wall before him and deemed it to also be climbable. Before he started his ascent this time, however, he turned around and shot an ancient arrow at the Guardian that had nearly knocked him off the wall on the way up.

Reaching the top and clambering up onto the walkway of a wall surrounding the Castle courtyards, Link noticed that the entire place was infested with the gurgling, sickly crimson mess of the Calamity. He wrinkled his nose at all the clumps and swathes of it blocking the pathways up to the heart of the Castle, the Sanctum. His ultimate goal.

As he was surveying the courtyard, the Champion spotted a Skywatcher circling a lone tower connected to the main body of the castle by a bridge of stone.

_Oh, what are you guarding?_

Ganon may as well have set off fireworks from the tower to gain Link’s attention. As if he wasn’t going to attempt climbing it anyway.

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

Link scanned the image on the slate and then looked up at his surroundings from where he stood on the bridge between Zelda’s room and her study. The Moblin in her room had been a surprise and he had felt a rush of irritation at it being there, which inevitably led to its quick but grisly death. Her diary had also been a surprise. After finding her research notes in the tower he had expected this book to be filled with similar thoughts. Once he had realised what he was actually reading, he’d been too curious about their dynamic to stop. 

He shuffled where he stood, taking a step back and then another, trying to get the image recorded in the slate to match what he saw. Minus all the destruction and carnage, of course. Another step back must have been all it took as the now familiar feeling of déjà vu hit him and he was whisked away from his body of the present to re-witness events that occurred a century ago.

Coming back to himself, Link was half tempted to go back to the Great Plataeu, climb the Temple of Time again and demand the old man - the _King_ \- show himself so that Link could yell at him. After all, what could a ghost do but stand there and listen to a small and very angry Hylian Knight.

_She had looked so happy,_ Link lamented, turning his gaze down to the courtyard below him. _She loved being involved with new discoveries about the Guardians, and she seemed to like sharing what she had learned too._

The Champion had to wonder if the King had ever considered that what he was doing was more likely to be choking his daughter rather than focusing her. Taking away the very activity she used as a way of escape, to actually express who she was as a person and not just a product of destiny, must have crushed her. Not to mention how demoralising the speech had been. He wondered what the previous Link had done after the King had left. Had he tried to console her, or had Zelda been adamant about dealing with it by herself to not appear weak?

Clearly, past him had a lot more self control than he currently possessed. He doubted he would have been able to keep his mouth shut when faced which such blatant injustice.

He had been planning to snoop about the castle some more, find more weapons and perhaps more clues into his past life. Now, he was singularly motivated to getting the Princess as far away from this place as possible. So, with the aid of Revali to sail over the spreading pools of calamity, Daruk to reflect wayward lasers from yet more hidden Guardians, and Urbosa to annihilate monsters that he found along his war path the last Knight of Hyrule reached the Sanctum. Thankfully, Mipha had not been needed as of yet but if he concentrated, he could feel her; ready and waiting.

Link climbed the stairs just as the sun was rising, the fiery glow from the horizon filtered through the stained glass windows set in the back of the room, creating blocks of light across the floor. The sight was so beautiful he was almost completely distracted from what was festering on the ceiling.

“Link…”

A voice he hadn’t heard since the last Blood Moon echoed inside and around him. He turned on the spot, trying in vain to locate the source of the voice, the Princess, but instead he saw evidence of malice dripping down from above him. He tilted his head to look.

It was hideous.

A grotesque mockery of the Sheikah architecture he had seen upon waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection. It had been the first sights he remembered in this new era, but this before him was a corrupted mess of pulsating viscera and inorganic tubing, culminating into a bulb in the centre. It was moving.

“Link … I’m sorry. My power isn’t strong enough. I can’t … I can’t hold him-“

Focused energy pierced through the bulb, scoring deep scars into the room across the walls and floor, the beams barely missing him. The explosion of light had split the bulb; segments highlighted by the energy from within were suddenly torn apart as _something_ burst out of its confines and dropped. Its weight was enough to shatter the floor on impact, propelling Link up on a section of broken marble and stone before it too slid into the uncovered cavern beneath the Sanctum.

His quick reflexes brought up the glider so he could drift safely down; giving him time to observe whatever it was that had just been birthed. His assessment was swift.

_By the powers that be, that thing is ugly._

It was most definitely not the smoke demon he had been expecting to go up against. An abomination of flesh comprised of malice and absorbed aspects of Sheikah technology twisted below him. Link descended down to the ground, skidding to a stop slightly on the intricate floor of the ancient cavern, and braced for the beast to turn around. When it finally did, he rather wished it hadn’t, but he did notice one thing of import.

_This is Calamity Ganon… and it has a face._

Link clicked his prosthetic wrist before forming a secure and tight fist with his right hand. He had made a promise and he was damn well going to deliver on it, but before he could move to do so he felt a pulse of energy from his spirit companions, suddenly noticing their distance. He looked up a second before the monstrosity before him also turned its stare to the opening above them.

A brilliant, bright blue light was screaming down towards them, through the chute they had fallen down. The very ground they stood upon was shaking with such force that Link nearly fell over as the area was assaulted by the Divine Beasts attacks. The light breached the cavern and splintered into millions of energy shots that rained down onto Ganon. It screamed as the bolts of blue ripped through its form, forcing it to writhe and collapse to the ground in agony, but Link himself was left unscathed.

_Thank you._

He felt a gentle tug at his core as the Champions responded to him, and he knew they were all back with him again. The beast before him was struggling to its legs once more, brandishing a large, red hot blade, and with multiple equally unpleasant limbs protruding from it’s back. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the Master Sword and swung it out to the side of him, the blade igniting with an ethereal glow.

“Bring it.”

Ganon responded with another high pitched scream, swiping the massive blade at Link’s body and their long awaited battle commenced. While the blade looked heavy and cumbersome it was certainly not slow, as it forced Link to black flip so he wasn’t cut in half and then set on fire.

Deciding that close combat was not a wise choice of action for now, Link swapped the Master Sword out for Revali’s bow, nailing Ganon in-between the eyes with ancient arrows. The scourge retaliated by bringing another limb up and focusing a target on Link’s chest. The bow was stashed and a shield brought out in seconds, deflecting the laser sent his way with practiced ease. The reversed attack stunned Ganon long enough for Link to run in and punch it square in the face. Admittedly, it didn’t seem to do much damage to the malice covered form, but it sure did feel satisfying. He hit Ganon about the head a few more times with the Master Sword, actually leaving deep, permanent gashes in the structure of the calamity.

As the beast stirred, Link darted away again before Ganon raised itself up and slammed back down, creating an energy seal on the floor around it for a split second. The Hylian Champion had no idea what that would do to him if he were to remain within its range but he wasn’t planning to find out. He once again kept his distance, favouring the Great Eagle bow and dodging the walls of fire propelled at him by the orange, glowing blade Ganon wielded.

At one point, the scourge started climbing up the walls of the cavern, like an overgrown insect. It was easily knocked off the wall again when Link fired a charged up blast from his right arm but he was sure that soon Ganon would try something new.

_Oh look, I was right,_ Link thought, dispassionately, as he parried another energy beam in order to break through Ganon’s new defensive strategy. The new strategy being that it couldn’t be hurt if Link couldn’t reach it with a weapon. High temperatures were very effective in that regard, as was barrier magic.

_Two can play at that game._

Link gave a feral grin as another projectile attack from Ganon was blocked by Daruk. This was followed by a successful parry which allowed Link to dash in and deliver a charged up a swing of the Master Sword, combined with an electrical storm of Urbosa’s Fury. Unfortunately, he stayed within range of Ganon for a fraction too long, as the beast recovered and expelled a wall of power that blasted Link back across the now heavily damaged floor. 

He could feel his shoulder click in places it shouldn’t, a sickening metallic taste in his mouth, and a burning sensation around his sternum. As soon as he fully became aware of the extent of his injuries, the pain was washed away by a soothingly cool sensation that pooled and passed through him.

_Thanks Mipha._

Getting to his feet once again, Link was thankfully nimble enough to evade the spear that hurtled towards him. He fired off some more ancient arrows, dislodging Ganon from the wall again and running forward to drive the Master Sword through its face.

It howled in pain and anger, the Champion wrenched the sword free and started to back away for another attack cycle but the beast continued to screech. Malice began to pour out from its sides, its very form twisting and disintegrating into a flashing cloud of ash and smoke. It began to coalesce at the opening of the cavern, Link still gritting his teeth ready for what he might have to face next when he felt his body disengage with reality.

It was the same sensation he experienced after regaining control of the Divine Beasts and could only wonder where he was going now.

He re-appeared outside of the ancient cavern, reforming on the grassy plains of Hyrule Field amid a shower of light, and next to him stood Geoffrey. The horse snorted at him in surprise.

_Yeah, me too, buddy_ , Link agreed, patting his horse gently on his muzzle while he took stock of his surroundings, absentmindedly wondering how the hell his horse got here. 

The sky was an angry, oppressive red, with dark clouds racing overhead and the air itself felt stale. The malignant atmosphere spread far out over the mountains of Hebra and past the Dueling Peaks. It didn’t take him long to notice the gigantic cyclone of malice and smoke that had appeared in the centre of the field.

He didn’t like to be pessimistic, but he felt like he was being tested right now as Zelda started to speak to him again. She detailed Ganon’s desperation to destroy this Kingdom, putting everything it had left into this final form of pure evil and hatred, all the while Ganon took shape before Link’s eyes. Massive cloven hooves extended out from the chaotic storm, crashing down onto the once pure green land around them, followed by a set of lethal tusks that framed a giant snout and burning eyes. The Champion couldn’t help but stand there and stare.

“He’s a giant fucking _pig!_ ”

The small Hylian wasn’t sure quite why he was so surprised by this revelation as the form seemed almost familiar to him, but its sheer size and appearance was incredibly intimidating. Then he remembered his horse.

_Thank you, Princess._

Whistling for his horse, Link started to sprint on ahead towards the flaming and lumbering colossal boar, hiking himself onto Geoffrey’s saddle as his horse caught up with him.

“I entrust to you the Bow of Light,” Zelda’s voice rang out again and a spark appeared in the sky, a half moon shaped bow descending from the heavens.

Link leaned down to one side of the saddle, grabbing the bow as he rode past. He urged his steed to run faster towards the colossal monstrosity that was slowly starting to trample its way across the field. It breathed a bright red and purple flame that focused to a point as it seared the ground and swung up into the sky. 

With a change in the tension of Links legs, Geoffrey was guided away from the front of the beast, instead riding along the side of it. The horse’s rider brought up the bow and saw a cluster of light form where his fingers rested against the bow string. Trusting his instincts, he pulled the bowstring back and saw an arrow of light form as he continued his draw. Link arched to aim and fire, but the projectile did nothing but bounce off the pigs hide.

“The energy covering Ganon’s body is called Malice. None of your attacks will get through as he is now…”

_Then what do I do?_ Link trusted that Zelda would be forthcoming with a solution and his faith was rewarded.

“I will hold the Malice back as much as I can, but my power is waning. Attack any glowing points that you see.”

_Got it._

Stashing the Bow of Light away for now, Link re-took hold of the reins and drove his horse forward to swing around the back of the monster, keeping his eyes open for any signs of escaping light. As they came around to the other side of Ganon, he heard Zelda’s voice ring out inside his head just as he saw three glowing seals appear on its upper limbs and body.

“Nows your chance!”

Link let fly several arrows into the areas Zelda highlighted, not having to worry about how much ammunition he had but also not taking any chances with his accuracy. The entire beasts form shuddered after the onslaught.

“Ganon’s power is weakening!”

_Oh thank the heavens_ , Link sighed internally, clipping Geoffrey on the side with his heel and tugging at the reins to turn the horse around. He nearly jolted off the horse entirely when he heard Zelda’s voice, louder than before in her urgency as she informed him of more weak points she had created. He wheeled all the way around the back of the beast and immediately started unloading light arrows into the designated areas.

“It’s working!”

He had successfully hit all the seals and was now riding around in circles waiting for more vulnerabilities. He couldn’t see any, so he travelled to the other side of Ganon, still keeping as far away as possible from the flames at the front. 

“Hurry, Link!”

“Princess! Where?!”

Link started to worry when he couldn’t spot anymore seals to shoot, but Zelda sounded so distraught and strained, she must be holding back the Malice somewhere. He just couldn’t _see it_. He nudged Geoffrey closer to Ganon, nearly brushing up against the giant hind legs of the beast. He cast his gaze feverishly over its huge form, pushing the green-maned horse forward until he saw the light in the corner of his eyes. Right on the beast's underbelly. Link shot it dead centre with the Bow of Light as he directed his horse directly underneath Ganon to reappear on the other side as it roared in rage and stamped its hooves.

“Link, we’re so close…”

The calamitous beast staggered around, turning to face Link head on and he heard Zelda direct his attention up to see a glowing split in the malice coating the body of the boar.

“That’s the very core of Ganon’s being! Do what you must, Link…”

_Will do, Princess,_ he vowed, bringing Geoffrey around to charge headfirst towards the boar's snout. Link gripped the front of the saddle, bearing his weight forward to bring his legs up onto the saddle beneath him. His trusty horse galloped within range of Ganon and Link propelled himself up from the seat of his steed into the air. A large, fiery eye looked at Link with fury from its location on the back of the beast's neck. 

The Hero of the Wild found immense satisfaction as he drew back an arrow of light and let it go with a snap of string to watch it puncture the core of the Calamity. 

Tar and viscera burst from the wound, the eye completely destroyed while the beast tossed its head in pain and rage. As it flung its massive head to the sky a ball of light escaped from its form, and Princess Zelda herself could be seen encapsulated in light.

Link couldn’t help but let his jaw drop from the relative safety of the field.

As the descendant of Hylia returned to the ground, Ganon was still tossing its head around, snuffling at the ground in front of the Princess and growling in frustration. It attempted to lunge for Zelda and Link could feel every muscle in his body tense as he propelled himself forward, even though he was too far away. However, Zelda emitted a shockwave, a force that bodily repelled the monstrous form as it rippled through the malice and Link forced himself to a stop.

_Oh, nevermind … she’s got this._

Ganon gave one last, thunderous roar before it dissipated into its smoky, demonic form that Link was more familiar with. It twisted up and away into the sky before diving back towards Zelda but it could not reach her through her aura of holy light, forced to curve away again. As it retreated, Zelda raised a calm hand up at the spectral being, the Triforce shining brightly on the back of her hand. Ganon made one last ditch attempt to consume the Princess again but the light around her solidified into an expanded sphere of fire. The sphere continued to grow as it chased the smoke beast into the clouds, disintegrating the evil on contact until Ganon was completely annihilated. The sphere shone brightly, a ringing echoing in Link’s ears for a few seconds before it condensed down to a small hole in the fabric of space within the blink of an eye and then disappeared entirely. 

The sky cleared and it was day again.

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

Zelda had turned to face him, telling him how her faith in him had never wavered after Link rushed over to her. Link still couldn’t believe that she was real; she was still here, right in front of him.

They had done it. Together, they had destroyed Ganon.

When she asked if he remembered her, he responded with a nod of his head, still a little dazed, but it was accompanied by a tilting gesture with his left hand. _I have memories of you... but I don’t remember everything._

She had nodded once back in response, but didn’t look disappointed. She was being remarkably calm given the situation. Link still felt like yelling, loudly, and he wasn’t sure when he would stop.

“I’m amazed you remember anything at all, but I am glad that you- … Link?”

Her appointed knight had walked forward and reached out to tap hesitantly against her right upper arm. Upon confirming that she was corporeal and didn’t have a spiritual green tinge to her appearance, he wrapped her up in a hug. He placed his face against her shoulder, content to marvel in the moment that she got to _live_.

Zelda was understandably taken aback by such a tactile gesture from her previously withdrawn protector, but she wasn’t about to complain. The Princess returned the hug gently at first, before she was suddenly overwhelmed with her ability to _touch_ and she squeezed his ribcage tightly. They stayed that way, allowing the adrenaline to leave their systems and their minds to catch up. The pair stood there, holding each other, afraid that the other would cease to exist should either of them let go of the other. Gradually their breathing synced up and their heart rates calmed.

Running her hands up to his shoulders, Zelda was now made aware of a morphology difference between his right and left shoulders. Leaning back she inspected his right side, trying to spot the difference while Link watched her, head tilted in his customary pose of curiosity. He could tell when she spotted the problem because she backed up away from him completely.

“Link! Your arm, what- how?!-“

“Oh! Yeah, I …” Link looked down at his right arm, past the sleeve of his tunic. “I was being … reckless, I believe you said?” He said, recalling the memory he found climbing up Death Mountain, as his gaze moved from his arm back to Zelda’s face, a small smile forming on his features. The smile died at the sight before him.

Zelda looked grief stricken.

“Princess, what’s wro-“

“You. Got hurt. Again, because of me. Because I …”

It looked as though Zelda was trying to contain something within her, but a crack formed seconds before she crumpled against him in her sorrow. Her breathing became irregular and stuttered as it was pushed through her tears; hands gripping the sleeves of his tunic. The fingers of her left hand met the rigid inorganic material of his arm through the soft Champion shirt. She held the fabric tighter.

“I’m so sorry…”

Link’s arms had automatically come up cradle her around the shoulders as soon as she broke, her whispered words making his chest constrict. All the while, he bore an expression of deep confusion and panic.

_Oh, I had not planned for this, not yet. This is so much worse than I predicted._

He had thought, during the hours he let himself imagine an outcome where she survived, that he could show her at a later point, gently. She would reprimand him as she had in his memories, and he would answer her with nothing more than a hangdog expression and assure her he had learned his lesson. Then she would have moved onto curiosity over the prosthetic as the researcher within her could no longer be contained. 

He didn’t know how to respond to this, though, other than to hold her more securely. Words of denial for her guilt and assurances that it was his own bloody fault and not hers simply failed him.

Zelda seemed to still after a while, but she did not try to distance herself from him, so he gently guided them both down to the grass. Her face was still flush against his collar bone but he didn’t stop his protective hold of her, running a hand down her back gently, though he wasn’t sure what he was protecting her from. _How do I protect her from her own thoughts?_

_By sharing them with her._

A sudden voice of clarity in his mind helped him recall what he had read from her diary. When she learned that he had the same fears and pressures of failure, she had felt less alone. It became the two of them against the Kingdom rather than just her lonely struggle. He wasn’t going to let her feel alone in this too.

“You know … I was terrified I wouldn’t actually get to meet you.”

Zelda tensed for a split second, as she heard Link’s voice, before gradually relaxing and tilting her face up while she leaned her head against his shoulder to look at her Knight.

“I was convinced you’d disappear like the other Champions, and all I’d have were memories of a life I watched from the outside.”

He could feel the last of his energy draining, the adrenaline of the fight dissipating from his system, but this was important. He had to keep talking; he had no idea if Zelda knew how to read sign or even if she still remembered it after one hundred years. It also seemed poignant that she heard his voice.

“I was convinced I took too long getting my strength back, took too long reclaiming the Divine Beasts, getting the Master Sword… but you believed in me.” Link tightened his hold on her and let his head fall to her shoulder. “This whole time, you believed I would come and save you. I only had one chance to get you back; I needed to be the best I could be. I’m sorry it took a while.”

In a rush of movement, Zelda scrambled to get her arms around his ribs to give him a surprisingly strong hug.

“Don’t you dare say sorry, not to me, Link. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did better than I could have hoped, and my standards are pretty high,” Zelda said with a watery laugh of relief.

“…then you don’t get to apologise to me either.”

Link pulled back so he could achieve direct eye contact with his charge, now gripping her shoulders with his hands as he demanded her full attention.

“If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be here, _Hyrule_ wouldn’t be here. You held back Ganon for over a century, who was a literal embodiment of evil and malice. I wouldn’t apologise for that, Princess.”

Hylia’s descendant smiled and all Link could think was _the Deku Tree wasn’t kidding, I’d give anything to keep her smiling like that_. Lost in this thought he nearly jolted when Zelda rested her forehead against his own, closing her eyes.

“Ok, so neither of us have anything to say sorry for… we’ll just think it instead.”

“Of course. We have very low opinions of ourselves.”

Zelda snorted and Link closed his eyes too.

“…it literally took me a hundred years to get you to talk this much.”

They stayed in that position for quite some time, just breathing in tandem with each other, enjoying the simple fact that they were both alive and feeling the sun’s rays on them.

“I really want a nap,” Link said, eyes still closed.

“Oh gosh, likewise.”

**Author's Note:**

> We finally have a Zelda! Also writing the end of this chapter filled me with warm fuzzy feelings. Thankyou to PilotInTheAttic for being the Beta reader on this.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented on Last Rounds, they really made my day and kept me going after an update.
> 
> If anyone has any prompts or situations they would like to see in future installations for this AU do let me know because it was actually a comment made by Psiidmon in Ironic Technology that sparked my desire to turn that story into a series. As always please let me know what you think - Good or bad it helps me build as a writer.
> 
> Chapter Art is [[here]](http://sarcastic-sketches.tumblr.com/post/166959555390/finally-felt-sad-today-so-i-did-some-comfort) and [[here]](http://sarcastic-sketches.tumblr.com/post/167627016010/part-4-storming-the-castle-ao3-while-hyrule)


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